The Moonlight Competition
by Uzumaki Hatsue
Summary: It dawned on Naruto "I have...feelings for...Hinata?" In that moment, Kiba realized the same. "I will NEVER give in to Uzumaki!" A contest. A deadly illness. Unrequited love? NaruHina KibaHina SasuSaku. Prequel to 'Blinking Territory'
1. The Signup

The Moonlight Competition

Chapter 1 'The Sign-up'

It was an early Monday morning when Naruto found a flyer posted to a wall. "Hey guys! "he shouted to Sakura and Sasuke " Look at this! It's a Moonlight Competition!"

"So?" Sasuke didn't really care. "What is it?" Sakura asked. "Um…. I don't really know…Wait! It says it here! ", Naruto read aloud "_Join the Moonlight Competition! It is a chance for young genin\chunin to prove themselves! You will have to fight in a dark room with no light. You must sense your opponent! The one to win will be given a glorious prize! The Moonlight Star! You must register until Monday the 15__th __of May in the Main Hall . The competition begins on the 16__th of__ May at 8.50 AM. Good Luck! "_

"Sounds all right. What do you think, Sasuke?" Sakura looked to Sasuke who was kicking stones.

"Uch…whatever"

"COOL!!" Naruto was jumping up and down.

Sakura chuckled "Come on you two. Let's sign up." Together they walked to the Main Hall. "Over There!" Naruto pointed to a line of people standing in front of a sign in sheet. Suddenly Naruto spotted Shino, Kiba and Hinata. He got very excited at the look of Hinata. "Hinataaaaa!" Naruto ran over to her. Sakura and Sasuke stayed behind. "It seems like he likes her" Sasuke told Sakura. "It seems like he does…" Sakura answered and smiled slightly, looking at Sasuke who blushed and turned away.

"Uh…hello…Naruto…" Hinata turned red and looked to the floor. Kiba saw him coming and got angry. "What are you doing here?" he grumbled.

"I was going to sign up", Naruto gave him a glare.

"Well then leave her be, idiot."

Kiba was starting to get jealous.

"I can talk to her if I want to and where I want to, moron!"

"Oh, shut up you two!" Shino yelled. "What's the big commotion about?" Sakura and Sasuke came running.

"Grrrrr…. "Akamaru was growling.

"Oh, does the big dog ninja have to call his puppy?"

"Kiba…"

"Shut up you idiot! "

"Kiba…."

"I AM NOT THE IDIOT HERE!!! THE IDIOT IS YOU, MR. DOGBRAIN!!"

"DOGBRAIN?! WHY YOU LITTLE….!"

"Kiba…."

"SHUT UP YOU……." Kiba stopped shouting and realized what he had done. "Hinata…." He wasn't looking at Naruto but at Hinata… Her face was burning red and she was about to faint. "Ah, you idiot!!" Naruto caught her as she was falling to the floor. Hinata regained consciousness after a while and pointed to the board with the list of participants "I'm sorry ….you can sign up now, Kiba…" the girl said weakly. "Um…" Kiba turned red. Hinata was asking herself who was holding her so she looked into the face of the person. "Naruto!!!" Hinata exclaimed. "Oh, dear..." Shino quickly took her from Naruto's arms and lifted her into the air himself. " Before she faints again , I think we best be going. We have to train. We will see you guys tomorrow " So Kiba , who gave a snort as he turned around, Shino, with Hinata in his arms, and Hinata ,who was as red as ever , left. " She's got it bad." Sasuke said. "What?" Naruto turned to Sasuke and then to Sakura who was laughing now "What has she got bad?"

"Well, let's say she's got a tiny problem with the sight of you"

"Huh? What d'you mean? She doesn't like me? What? Come on!!! Tell meeeeee!"

but Sakura and Sasuke were both signing their names on the list and were leaving. Naruto hastily wrote down his name and went after them.

"GUYS!!!! TELL ME!!"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other and started to laugh.

"Oh! That's not fair!! "

"I think we can tell you this: No, she likes you. REALLY likes you"

"Well, okay that's ….wait …what does 'REALLY likes me' mean?"

Both laughed again and ran away.

"UNFAAAAIIIIR!!!!DATTEBAYOOOO!!!" Naruto ran after them and looked forward to tomorrow.


	2. Rules are rules

(NOTE: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO IN ANY WAY)

Chapter 2 'Rules are Rules'

On the day of the Competition Naruto woke at 9.00 o'clock. Usually Sasuke and Sakura woke him when he was late but today they had forgotten.

"Holy Hokage!! I'm late!" He quickly got dressed and ran to the Main Hall. There, every one was standing next to each other. They were doing a roll call. He discovered Sakura and squeezed himself into a gap between her and Rock Lee.

"Good morning Naruto. You're late", Lee whispered."Yeah..Morning, Lee. Don't tell Saku…"

"NARUTO!!"

"Too late"

Sakura was flaming. "How dare you show up this late?!"

"Shhh…Sakura or else the Sensei will hear you…."

"Don't bother. I already heard."

A tall man with brown hair and blue eyes was standing in front of them.

"I am Sensei Yukohiro. I come from Suna-Gakure. And your late, Uzumaki."

"Umm…I'm sorry Sir…I overslept…."

"Yes, well, I ought to have you disqualified for it " Sensei looked sternly at Naruto. "But I'm in a fine mood today so I'll let you participate. "

"Thank you Sir"

"Let's get on with the roll call then"

"Miss Haruno!"

"Here!"

"Mr. Uchiha!'"

"Here"

"Mr. Uzumaki!"

"Here!"

"Miss Yamanaka!"

"Here!"

"Okay , that was the last one. Now I will tell you the rules" He looked every one in the eye. "Nr 1! There will be no Kekkei Genkai used!"

"WHAT?!" the crowd was in an uproar.

" We're not aloud to use…That's unfair!" Neji Hyuuga shouted.

"If you are supposed to sense your opponent with your mind it is not very helpful if you use your Byakugan, now, is it, Mr. Hyuuga?"

Sensei Yukihiro walked on "Nr2! You fight until your opponent faints! Or worse.

Nr3! There will be no giving up!"

"What? Oh no…" the group was very nervous.

"Yes! A real challenge!!" Naruto was standing with his fist held in front of him.

"Narutoooooo!!" everyone moaned.

"What?" Naruto looked puzzled.

" Now we will begin! If you could follow me please" the weird sensei walked throw a nearby door. They all followed him. They found their selves in a dark room with only one light. "I will give everybody a piece of paper with a number on it. There are number pairs like 1 and 1 or 2 and another 2. The people who have 1 and 1 will automatically be transported into the pitch black arena. " he started giving out the pieces of paper. " and then he disappeared . "What? Where'd he go?" Sakura looked around 'Naruto, where'd you think he we…Naruto?" Naruto, who Sakura thought was standing beside her was gone. "Sasuke, Naruto is gone!" Sasuke smiled slightly "Well I guess that means he's up first."

"Hinata? Hinata where are you?" They heard Kiba and Shino shout and turned around. "Oh no" Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other alarmed. "You don't think that…"

"Oh…yes…I do"

The two of them dreaded what would happen next.


	3. My beloved enemy

(NOTE: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO IN ANY WAY)

Chapter 3 'my beloved enemy'

Naruto found himself in a dark place with no light. He was unaware of the fact that he was standing in the middle of a big arena with his opponent and sensei in front of him.

"Sasuke? Sakura? Where is everybody?"

"Nobody can hear you. I have laid a jutsu over you two so that you can not recognize each other."

"What? But how can we fight if there is no light?"

Yukihiro laughed "Sense them! I will leave you now. You may begin! Oh , and I should mention that when one of you faint, the light will return! Good bye, I will look after the others now" there was a loud 'pop' and he was gone.

"Okay…sense your opponent, Naruto…" He concentrated hard. "Wait…I know this aura…but who is it?" He walked closer to where he thought the foe was waiting and stretched out his hand. He touched a forehead with bangs and then the back of the head. Suddenly the person reached out and touched his cheek with trembling hands.

She already knew who she was fighting against. Naruto remembered that this was a fight and cut the hand with a kunai. His tried to take his hand back but his opposite had already grasped it and led it to his cheeks. They were wet with tears. "What?" Naruto didn't understand what he or she was trying to tell him. Then she led the hand to her neck and then to her forehead protector as Naruto called it and let go.

Now it hit Naruto like lightning! He was fighting against Hinata! He suddenly backed away from her because he realized what he had done and what he has to do.

"Naruto…" he heard a voice.

"Naruto… it's me…Hinata…this is a mind jutsu…I can talk to you in my mind but you have to be silent so that the sensei does not notice."

"Hinata, I am so sorry…I mean.." Naruto thought back. It was weird hearing her in his head but it felt nice and warm too.

" I know. You don't have to apologize. I...I see that you felt p..panicked…"

"Wait…can you see into my mind?! Like, see when and what I was doing at certain times? And thinking?" okay, now he **was** panicking.

"Um…yes…" she turned red In the darkness "and you can do that too…" oh, she wished that she hadn't said that last line. Naruto felt Hinata turning red through their connection and felt the same way. "Oh, well…then I guess it's okay" 'Now's the chance to see what she felt when we met at the sing-up sheet!' he thought. Hinata of course heard this "What are you doing?" but it was too late. He was already looking at her memories.

It felt weird, looking through her eyes into the street and seeing himself run towards her looking, what amazed him himself, really happy and red in the face. "Hinataaaaa!" 'Whoa!' Naruto felt an urge to kiss himself and turned (well, Hinata turned) red with excitement and felt the feeling when you're in love (again, this is Hinata's feeling). Naruto left the memory "I…I…" they both turned deep red.

"Umm…Naruto, I…"Hinata was ready to faint. "Hinata…we have to finish the battle. You will have to move to the next level so attack. But first I have to let you see one of my memories."


	4. one memory, two people, one feeling

(NOTE: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO IN ANY WAY)

Chapter 4 'one memory, two people, one feeling'

Naruto thought back to a scene which played in the woods so she could see it. Hinata was standing by a tree with Kiba next to her. Naruto was standing behind a tree listening to them talk. Now Kiba was talking "Hinata, I like you very much. May I kiss you?" Hinata backed away. "I do not understand…I…" The Hinata who was watching the scene through Naruto's eyes felt him turning angry, jealous and puzzled why he was feeling such things. "I like you too, but you know that I cannot accept you." Now he felt relief. 'Yes! Good going Hinata!' "But why? He doesn't even know that you love him! I love you far more than he **ever** will!!" he felt hope 'maybe it's me…wait! Why am I feeling these things?' she felt a warm feeling rushing threw him. 'I have feelings for Hinata…' "Please Hinata! Give me a chance!" Kiba was looking very distressed. The leaves of the trees around them swayed slowly in the wind. Kiba grabbed Hinata by her arm "Kiba,no…!"

"I will never give in to that stupid Uzumaki!" What is he DOING?!?! Naruto felt an urge to punch him but at the same time he was overjoyed that Kiba had said 'Uzumaki'. The next moment, neither Hinata nor Naruto realized what had just happened. Kiba had kissed her straight on the mouth. Hinata was struggling to get free of his grip and managed to slap him. Breathing hard Hinata mustered up the strength to say :"Kiba, you are my dearest friend…but you must understand...that I…that I… THAT I DON"T LOVE YOU!!!" she screamed the last words and tears ran down her face. Now Naruto left the memory. "Well, since then I bare a grudge against Kiba." he thought and laughed sheepishly. "Naruto…" Hinata couldn't believe it. Naruto had seen that dreadful scene and he… had seen her kiss Kiba…her first kiss…lost to Kiba forever…

"No, wait. There is one more thing I have to do" he walked over two her and grabbed her arm. "What..?" But before she could react, he kissed her.

It was a short kiss. Like a peck from a bird. "There. Kiba's kiss was your first kiss then? Now I have his kiss on my lips. And yours have never been kissed before" he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Kiba's kiss is gone. And I…umm…" Hinata felt him turning red and for the first time in his life, Naruto was shy about what he was going to do next. He asked, quite quietly "Hinata…I was wondering…if I...could I…"Hinata was sure in the darkness they were standing in you couldn't see a thing but she also felt sure that he was looking to the floor , searching for the right things to say. "If I … If…if I…!" He sighed. 'I am Naruto Uzumaki! I am not afraid! I can do this! Oh please gods up there…help me…!' he thought to himself. His courage came back to him. He said the words clearly in his mind, sure that she heard them "If I could kiss you"

"Naruto…!" She (again) couldn't believe it. The person she had always dreamed of, the one she admired all her life, wanted to kiss her! "I would be…very happy…yes" she stammered. Then they both leaned forward, as nervous as can be, Naruto laid a trembling hand on Hinata's cheek, bent down and kissed her. This nervousness vanished within seconds. It was a warm kiss and they both wanted it to never end. They were together. Nothing, as it seemed to Naruto, could destroy this moment. They broke their kiss after what seemed to be a life time. "H…Hinata…?" he asked and shut his eyes. "Yes?" quietly replying. "This…this was also my first kiss…" Waves of happiness surged through Hinata "But I thought…you had already kissed…Sakura…"

"Sakura? No, I… for a long while now I haven't felt anything for her. And I surely NEVER kissed her! " Naruto now stopped looking to the floor and looked straight into her eyes (at least he thought he was looking into her eyes since it was still pitch black ') He hugged her tightly and she loved the way he smelled "I realized…that I don't feel for her but for someone… else. Since that day in the woods I thought everyday of you and didn't even notice! My heart ached over the kiss…and my head was totally confused why I was thinking of such things!! But now I think I know why I am so confused…Hinata, I…!" before he could finish his sentence they were standing in the woods surrounded by three Yukihiro's. "And what exactly do you think were you doing?" they laughed. "Talking about feelings, I guess? Naruto Uzumaki…The monster…hehehehe….kissing a girl who probably didn't even want him to kiss her" they sniggered " but now, I will relieve you of your burden, Naruto. I will take Kyuubi away from you!" he threw a dozen kunais' at them. "Byakugan!" Hinata reacted fast and blocked them. "Oh no you won't!" the mad sensei used a jutsu that was strange to them. "AAAAAAAH!" Hinata screamed. The jutsu had blocked her Byakugan, shocked, paralyzed her and pinned her to a tree. "Leave her alone!" Naruto was losing his grip. "Oooh, getting fed up with me already? Look at her, so cutely stuck to a tree… she probably hates you! She only acted as if she likes you, Naruto!!"

"You're LYING!" Naruto hollered, looking to Hinata who was crying and shaking her head. "No! Naruto!! I really have feelings for you! Believe me!" Naruto was being pulled into a genjutsu, standing in a room full of giggling girls. Hinata was in the middle of them. She was talking to Ino, Sakura, TenTen and Temari. "And then what did he do??" Ino asked Hinata very excitedly "Well, he showed me the scene Kiba and I had played off, you know, about 'I don't love you' and the kissing. Of course Kiba and I knew he was watching and made a very dramatic scene out of it. He said 'I won't give in to that Uzumaki!' and of course that jerk Naruto thought I loved HIM even if I don't. So Naruto went on asking me if he could kiss me and I acted as if that was the thing I wanted. Ewww girls, that kiss was HORRIBLE! " The girls around her giggled. Just then Kiba came into the room and asked what the laughing was about "Oh," Hinata told him "I was just telling them about how we fooled that idiot Naruto"

"Well, how about I show the girls what a terrific kisser I am?" With that he went over to Hinata, kissed her very passionately on the mouth. Hinata kissed back happily. "NOOO!" the watching Naruto screamed. To Hinata's and Yukihiro's eyes, Naruto was still in the woods, laying on the floor and shaking uncontrollably. "NARUTOOOO!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!!" Hinata feared what horrible things Yukihiro would show him. "Stop it, Yukihiro!" a voice came out of no where. It was sensei Kakashi along with sensei Jiraiya, Hokage Tsunade and a lot of anbu's. The booming voice had also freed Naruto from the genjutsu. He stood up, still shaking. The grown-ups circled Yukihiro. "Leave them be and we won't hurt you. Not yet."

"well, I must say you are really good. I will come with you" the sensei answered "but first…" he looked at Hinata "she will suffer!" he threw a giant kunai at the still paralyzed girl. "NO!" before he could realize what he was doing, Naruto threw himself in front of the girl and was struck instead. Just then the konoha ninjas threw shuriken and kunais at Yukihiro, who then fell to the floor. "Naruto!" she had been released "Why?" Hinata caught him and cried "Why did you do such a foolish thing?!"

"Because I…like you…more than I…admit" and then he Fainted. If she had not been in a state of shock, Hinata would have been overjoyed but now she could only think about Naruto's injuries. "Tsunade-sama! Help him! Please help him!" The Hokage came running to them and looked at Naruto. "hmm…he will be okay" she said " but only if we bring him to the hospital! It is a very dangerous injury ..." She took the boy and carried him to Jiraiya. "Oh boy Naruto! Had to play the lady killer, did ya?"

"Take him to the hospital as quick as you can! Use Gamma bunta if you have too!" "All right!" and he was off.


	5. Drugged by the medicine

(NOTE: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO IN ANY WAY)

Chapter 5 "Drugged by the medicine"

Naruto was to be operated right away. Tsunade was shouting orders to everybody who got in her way. "Iruka! Get the other shinobi out of the town hall! Tell his friends what has happened! Get them here! QUICK! Jiraiya, don't just stand there and be petrified! Help us! " she looked around and saw Hinata standing in front of the operating rooms window looking horrified. "Kakashi!" she whispered this time "Get her out of here! She's not supposed to see him like this!"

"But why? She's a grown girl, she can take care of herself" he was missing the basic point here. "Because she is in love with him you moron!!! Now get! Take this medicine and give it to her, she will doze off in no time" "Oh! Right." He went outside to see her. "Hinata,here. Take this medicine. It will help. Why don't you come with me?" "No…I…have t..to…s.stay…can't leave…him…"she broke into tears but swallowed the pill he gave her. Kakashi led her out of the operating area and into an empty hospital room. Just then Iruka came in with Sasuke, Shino, Kiba and Sakura. Iruka himself was in a total state of shock, after seeing Naruto hurt so badly. "Umm…Iruka, you don't look to good. Let's leave the kids alone…" before Kakashi walked outside with Iruka he said quietly to them that she had taken some medicine and would doze off soon. With that he shut the door. "Hinata!" Kiba ran to the crying girl and hugged her tightly. "What happened?!"

"I…I…! Naruto…he…" just saying his name made her breakout into sobs. "Hinata-chan! Please! Don't cry! We're here!" Sakura took her out of Kiba's strong arms and hugged her instead. "Here, sit down!" she led her to the bed. After Hinata sat down and her crying ceased a bit they all sat around her trying to comfort her. But it didn't work out that well because Hinata just realized that she had some of Naruto's blood on her Jacket. "Tell us what happened." Said Shino, trying to sound comforting. He had never seen Hinata lose it so much. "I…He… we were first to fight and…" she sobbed the whole time but tried to concentrate on telling them what had happened.

"We knew…fight against each other…I knew…I had mind jutsu…talking to him… my thoughts… we could see the memories of one another…feel same feelings…he showed me…one memory…he saw…he saw" she looked at Kiba, tears running down her face even more now. "Kiss…in woods…"

"**Kiss?!?!**" Sakura and the usually so cool Shino stammered. "What? When? Who??" Sakura was good friends with Hinata but she never told her about a kiss. Shino had an idea but he did NOT like it AT ALL. "Kiba, did you…?" Kiba meanwhile, had backed away and had shock written all over his face. He was as red as a tomato and was standing there with a look that told Shino everything. "Sakura, Shino, I think we should leave them alone for a few minutes." That was the first thing Sasuke had said since they had entered the room."I…Hinata-chan…we'll be right back…" Sakura said looking sad and concerned at her dear friend. Shino was still standing in the room looking at Kiba with a disgusted look on his normally neutral face. "Shino, we should go!" Sakura pulled him out of the room. But before he left he let a little green insect stay in the room, barely visible to see. It was a hearing bug, so that outside they could hear what was going on between the two. "Hinata…he was there? He…saw?" Kiba was still in love with her, but the idea of Naruto watching what he had done made him ill. "Yes…" tears were rushing down her face like miniature waterfalls. She had stopped sobbing, though. "I…I am…sorry… but I love you so much…I couldn't help but kiss you! ("WHAAAAT?!?!" Sasuke had to put a hand over Sakura's mouth)

The words you said…the tears you cried back then…they have haunted me ever since. I…am truly…sorry" now Kiba was crying as well. Outside the door Sakura and Shino were having a fit. "Kiba-kun…I…don't be… Naruto…he..." she turned a deep red "he…kissed me…" ("WHAAAT?!?!" Okay Sasuke... Now Sakura had to put a hand over _his _mouth.) Kiba suddenly was angry, not sad anymore. "He kissed you? Why did he do that?!" "I…don't know…but he saved me…he said he liked me…more than he admitted…and he probably will d…" she couldn't say the last word. It was too horrible to think. She burst into tears again and Kiba forgot his angriness and hugged her again. Even tighter this time. "Hinata Hyuuga…why do I have to feel so much for you?" he asked, crying. "Kiba…I…" she felt as though she was in Naruto's arms again. So warm and comfortable…and the medicine was slowly kicking in. "Would it matter if I kissed you again?" Kiba asked. Hinata hesitated but since she thought she lay in Naruto's and not in Kiba's arms, she said "No…" Kiba was overjoyed but didn't know if this was the right thing to do. He shoved his conscious aside and before he kissed her, Hinata said so quietly only Shino's bug could hear "Naruto…" They kissed. Outside they were staring at each other, really scared. Sakura's mouth hung open and she was taken quite aback. Nobody knew what to say. "She said Naruto, right?" Sakura said quietly. "Yes…" Sasuke was at a loss of words. The first one to come back to reality was Shino "It must be the medicine! She thinks she is kissing Naruto!"

"But what do we do now?" Sasuke wasn't the type of guy who knew how to handle these things. Thank god Shino was. "We wait till they…stop… and then we go in and I talk to him." "Talk to him is good!!" Sakura said sarcastically "I'd rather kick his ass!!" "Yeah… He took Naruto's girl away…that…isn't very…nice…" Sasuke was getting angry. "Why are you so angry Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, puzzled. "Well, think. If someone would take you from me I would…" Uups…he turned red and looked at Sakura. She was staring at him in utter disbelief but with a smile on her face. "Take me from …you?" she said, hoping she had heard right. "Umm…well…you are…I…oh god" He put his head in his hands "You two! Now isn't the time to talk about you! If you have forgotten, Kiba is sitting in there, kissing Hinata who thinks he's Naruto!!" Meanwhile in the room, Kiba and Hinata broke their kiss and Kiba looked at her, the one he loved. "I…I am so…tired…" Hinata could barely keep her eyes open. "Then sleep. You had a lot to deal with today" Just in that moment, Shino came in with Sakura and Sasuke, who were both very red. "Are you finished?" Shino asked him impatiently. "Yeah…she just fell asleep." He replied, looking perfectly happy. "Then I have to talk to you. Outside" Shino turned his back on him and marched away. "O…Okay." Kiba followed. Out of earshot, standing in front of the window of Hinata's room, Shino started shouting "What do you thinkin…No! _Do _you even stop to think these days?!?! How could you kiss her?!?! AGAIN!?! You KNOW she doesn't love you!! What do you think Naruto will say when he finds out?!!!" "Now, wait a second!!" Kiba was startled "She said she didn't mind if I kissed her!" Kiba suddenly realized something

"Hold the phone! Why do you even know this?!"

"I sent a hearing bug in there! I couldn't leave her alone! Surely not alone with YOU!"

"You WHAT?! How could you?!"

"You _kissed_ her!"

"She said _yes_!!"

"No, you idiot! She thought you were Naruto! She was drugged by the medicine!"

"Prove it!"

"If I must." He held out his hand and a little green bug appeared. "Tell him"

And as if a radio was turned on, the sound of Kiba's voice came out of nowhere.

"He kissed you? Why did he do that?!"

"I…don't know…but he saved me…and probably will d…"

She cried.

"Hinata Hyuuga…why do I have to feel so much for you?"

"Kiba…I…"

"Would it matter if I kissed you again?"

"No…"

"Naruto…"

Kiba was staring at the bug, wishing it would stop. "But…I…Naruto…oh god!!" he fell to his knees and started sobbing, even harder than Hinata had. "I am such an idiot!"

Shino bent down to him "We all make mistakes. She won't remember though. So you're saved" Kiba stopped, thinking. If she wouldn't know what had happened, it would be okay. He stood up "Thank you, Shino. I think I'm alright now. Let's go back."

"Alright." When they came into the room they stopped in their tracks. Sakura and Sasuke were kissing, totally oblivious to them. Shino coughed. They broke their kiss fast and looked to the floor. "Umm…everything sorted out, then?" Sasuke asked.

Shino and Kiba started laughing. It was just too funny. "I think we ought to let Hinata sleep." Suggested Shino after having stopped laughing. "Okay…" then they all left.


	6. My worst nightmare

(NOTE: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO IN ANY WAY)

Chapter 6 "My worst nightmare"

In the operating room everything was going good. They finished healing Naruto and transported him to a room. He was very week and slept for a long time. Every night, he had the same nightmare. Always standing in the room full of giggling girls, seeing Hinata kiss Kiba. On one night however, his dream was different. He was standing in the arena where he had been supposed to fight against Hinata, only the arena was lit. Hinata was lying on the floor, Sakura, Shino, Sasuke and Kiba around her. Sakura and the others left, leaving only Kiba and Hinata.

Kiba started talking "Hinata Hyuuga…you are beautiful" He took her into his arms. Hinata smiled back at him "Kiba…I"

He kissed her. It was only a short kiss though, just like the peck of a bird.

"There. Now I have Naruto's kiss." He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "And now he has never kissed you before. And I…Could I…" This scene reminded Naruto of something. As if he was having a déjà-vu. Kiba looked very shy now, but then his willpower returned to him. "May I kiss you?" he asked looking her direct in the eyes. Now it dawned on Naruto. This is exactly what he did as he wanted to kiss Hinata! But she couldn't say yes to him, she just couldn't! "Kiba, I love you" Naruto's heart stopped. The pain he was feeling was unbearable. "NOOO!! HINATA!! STOP!!" but she couldn't hear him. She bent forward and kissed Kiba. "NOOOOOOO!!!" Naruto was rampaging in his bed, the medics couldn't hold him down "Hinata! No!" he kept moaning "Don't kiss him…please…don't kiss him…"

"Is he having those nightmares again?" Sakura was also trying to hold him.

"Yes! It must be really terrible this time! He usually only moans and shivers!" Lee kept losing his grip on Naruto's arm. Tsunade came in and looked at Naruto with a worried expression on her face. "I wonder what's keeping him from waking up" she said. "What?" Sasuke looked alarmed. "He should have woken up days ago" Tsunade wasn't happy about what was going on. He kept on saying Hinata's name and that she shouldn't kiss him. Hmm…what did this mean? Who was this 'him'? "You don't think he knows what happened a few days ago?" Shino quietly asked Sakura so that Tsunade could not hear. At least he thought so. "What Happened a few days ago?!" Tsunade asked and expected an answer. The three teenagers looked at each other (well, Lee didn't because he didn't know WHAT had happened a few days ago) alarmed. Sakura was looking at Shino with a look that said 'couldn't you have kept your dumb mouth shut?' and Sasuke was looking at him like 'tell me, what are you going to do now, you idiot?' "I will tell you." Shino gave in to Tsunade who smiled mockingly in return. "We went to visit Hinata on the day the competition was. There were Sakura, Sasuke, me and well…Kiba. We tried to comfort her and she tried to tell us what was going on and why they were in a hospital. So she began talking about…a kiss…and she was looking at Kiba and cried even harder. We decided to leave the two of them alone, you know, to sort things out and I left one of my hearing bugs inside so we could hear what their problem was. And…umm…" Shino didn't want to go on. "Do you still have the bug?" Tsunade inquired. Damn. Shino had hoped she wouldn't ask that. "Yes…" he said, fearing it was Kiba's doom. "But I think we shouldn't hear it in front of him" Shino said, worrying that he might hear it. "Okay." They went outside, into the hallway. And just as he did with Kiba he let the bug fly outside and said "Tell us" and it began from the second Shino had left the room. It was terrible to hear it again. When it stopped, Tsunade had a look of outrage etched upon her face. "Where is that dog?!?" Tsunade started hollering. "What…? He's with Hinata…he said he didn't want to disturb Naruto and stayed with her since she is also sleeping." Sakura backed away as she saw in what state her master was in "What are you going to do with him?" "I will put the fear of god into him if anything goes wrong with Naruto!!"

She stormed down the corridor and into Hinata's room where Kiba was playing fetch with Akamaru. "YOU!!' Tsunade ran towards him, grabbing the startled guy by his collar. "Do you know what you have DONE?!?!" "What?" "Naruto is having 'Realistic Nightmares'!"

"What's that to do with me?"

"Do you know what he yells every night? He yells "Hinata, don't kiss him" do you have any ideas who could be meant with 'him'?? You!! And he is almost going to have a vision! A vision of, guess what? You kissing Hinata last week!! And if that happens, he will wake up, and will not know who she is! And so help me, I am gonna kick your ass, if he breaks her heart!"

"I…" Kiba was shocked "Can't we do something against it?" he managed to say. Tsunade let go of him. "Yes, we can. No," she looked to Hinata "She can. Wake her up, Sakura. We have to get her to him as fast as we can. Thank god it's still morning." "But, Shou-sama, she has slept as long as Naruto has…can we wake her?"

"Yes, the medicine should be wearing off by now." Sakura nodded and went to the pale girl lying in the bed. "Hinata-chan, Hinata-chan, please wake up!" She nudged her in the shoulder. Hinata stirred "Yes! That's the spirit! Open your eyes!" Hinata blinked and looked around. "Where am I?" "You are in the hospital. Naruto needs you now. Can you come with me?" Tsunade asked patiently. "I…Naruto? Where is he?"


	7. Forgotten Love

(NOTE: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO IN ANY WAY)

Chapter 7 "Forgotten Love"

She sat up in her bed and looked down at herself. She saw some blood on her purple jacket, images flashing through her head. Yukihiro's face, Naruto looking scared at her and running towards her, a great kunai coming close… "Naruto!" She stood up and almost fell. Shino caught her. "I have to see him! Is he alive?!" She tried to stand on her own but she was still too weak. "Yes, but he is having Realistic Nightmares."

"What does that mean?" she looked scared and puzzled. "Okay. Let's say a patient is hurt real bad, and after an operation is recovering quickly, but he sleeps all the time. Sleeping normally is a good thing, but in this case it is not. The patient suffers from the same nightmare every night, until one day, there is a new nightmare. One that is more terrible than the other one. And when that happens, the next night he will have a vision of something real that really happened," she glanced at Kiba and then back to Hinata "and after that, he wakes up and doesn't know the person he has dreamed of all this time. It happens mostly to…people in love."

"People in… love?"

"Yes. The person whose name he says while he's sleeping…well…he will forget this person, and eventually other people as well."

"And…whose name…did he say?"

"Yours. Hinata."

"No…" she started crying "He will forget me? I…no…!"

"He will only forget you if you can't wake him up! Now follow me! You will have to start right away" She took Hinata by her hand and led her into Naruto's room. The other guys followed them. "You will have to do everything to wake him up. Talk to him, scream, whatever! Just wake him! If not…well, only god knows what will happen…" She looked at Naruto and smiled. "You can do it! I believe in you!" she looked at Hinata reassuringly and left. The others had to wait outside. Sakura was sitting on a bench, looking really upset. The boys, Shino, Sasuke, Kiba and Lee were all pacing in the hallway, back and forth, hands behind their backs. Inside, Hinata was slowly moving towards him, looking at him as if he were something very precious to her, which he was. "Naruto? Naruto? Wake up Naruto…wake up!" she talked very soft, wishing she wouldn't have to scream at him. "Please, wake up!" she took him by both shoulders and shook him. That didn't work. Nothing worked. She tried screaming at him. Nothing. She hit him. Nothing. She tickled him. Nothing. Again and again, whatever that she did, no response, nothing. It was almost time for dinner when she gave up. She sat in a chair next to his bed, crying, with her head in her hands. "Why don't you wake up?" she said between sobs "Do you even want to wake up? Do you… want to…forget me?" The sun was slowly going down. "Please…wake…NARUTO!!!" she couldn't bare it any longer. She laid her head on his torso and wept. She felt him breathing and heard his heart beat. She lay there quite a long time, until his breath was getting heavier and his heartbeat quicker by the second. She spun around and looked out of the window. The sun had already gone. "No…" she turned to Naruto, his face had agony written all over it. He started talking "Why am I in a hospital room? Sasuke? Sakura? They can't hear me… Hinata! She is hurt! Why? No...No…NOOOO!!! KIBA! GET AWAY FROM HER!!"

"Naruto!! NO!! STOP IT!!" Hinata was terrified. It had begun. She held him tightly in her arms, tears flowing down her face, trying to keep him down. Her tears were dropping on his face in her wild attempt to hold him. "No! I must…DO something!!!" she thought, looking desperate. An idea came to her mind. 'What if I…?' she thought. "Hinata! Now is not the time to think! ACT!! QUICKLY!" saying it to herself, hoping it would work. She leaned over to Naruto's face, he was crying now too, and said what she had never thought she would dare to say "Naruto, listen to me!" she whispered in his ear "I…I love you!" and with that, she bent over his face and kissed him. Naruto suddenly went still, just lying there. Had it worked? Suddenly, Naruto began to speak again. This time quieter "If he ever kisses you again, I will kick him where the sun doesn't shine…Hinata." He smiled, eyes still closed. "No, wait. There is one more thing I have to say." His arm shot out of the blanket, pulling Hinata close to him "Wha…?" "I love you too." His shining blue eyes opened now, smiling at her as if he was in heaven. "Oh, Naruto! You're awake!" She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, not even thinking about letting him go. She started crying again. This time they were tears of joy. Naruto hugged back, kissing her cheek. Outside the door, the boys were sitting on the bench and Sakura was walking to and fro, frowning. "This is taking too long! It's already nightfall!"

"Sakura, you are right, this is taking forever! I'm going in."

"Sasuke-kun…"

He marched to the door and knocked hard.

"Hinata? Can we come in?"

They heard Naruto shouting "No!! No!! Please!!"

"Oh no! He's having the vision!!"

They stormed into the room. "Umm… wait a minute…"

"Mercy!! Hinata! Mercy!!" shouted Naruto, laughing. They were having a pillow fight.

"Umm…Naruto? Are you awake?" Sakura didn't understand anything.

"Of course I'm awake!" Hinata stopped hitting him with a pillow. "And guess what? I have a girlfriend now!!" He walked over to Hinata, who was blushing furiously, took one of her hands and kissed her. She was totally surprised but kissed back in an instant. "Well, it's about time" said Jiraiya, appearing out of nowhere. Sakura, Shino, Sasuke and Lee clapped. "Wohooo, Naruto!! You have the spirit of youth!!'

"Wow…you ended up with a girlfriend, too, huh?" Sasuke said approvingly.

"What?! Sasuke-kun, you have a girlfriend??" Sakura was shocked. "Yes, you dummy" everybody stopped clapping "It's you!" Laughter all around and a slightly blushing Sakura. The only one who wasn't laughing or clapping was Kiba. He left the room without anyone noticing. "How could I have been so dumb, Akamaru? How?" "Bark bark! (you will find another love, Kiba!)"

"Well, that might take time…_She _is definitely not the one for me…"

"Bark…(yeah, _and_ Naruto would have your ass for that…)

Kiba started laughing. "Well, maybe we should go back and congratulate them."

"Awoof!! (I call that very cool of you, Kiba!!)"

Together they went back into the hospital room and celebrated with the others.


	8. Don't scare me like that!

(NOTE: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO IN ANY WAY)

Chapter 8 "Don't scare me like that!"

After Hinata and Naruto got out of the hospital together, they went to Ichiraku's Ramen bar. "Hinata, you know, I…when I said that…oh, never mind!" Naruto was very nervous that evening, Hinata could tell. "Naruto… If there is something on your mind…please tell me"

"No, no! It's nothing!" he continued slurping his ramen.

"Oh, okay…" they sat quietly not talking to each other, eating their food. Later on, when they had finished, Naruto walked Hinata home. It was a peaceful night and the moon and the stars shone as bright as ever. In front of the Hyuuga clan's gate, Naruto was holding Hinata's hand, thinking something wasn't right. He couldn't just let her go now. He had to tell her something. Something _really_ important. "Hinata, wait!" she stopped opening the gate and turned around. "Yes?" she smiled with that smile that made Naruto's heart stop. "I…umm…come with me!" he took her hand and ran "Where are we going?" "You'll see!' in sight came a nearby hill that was called 'Flower Hill'. It had earned this name over the years because so many rare flowers grew there. Naruto led Hinata to the very top of the hill. "Wow…" Hinata had never seen something so beautiful. Beyond the hill there was a meadow in which silver flowers were glowing in the moonlight. Butterflies were dancing around the flowers in a wondrous way. The meadow was called 'Midnight lane' and she had sometimes walked through it at day and had thought what pretty flowers were growing there, but she had never thought that those flowers would be even prettier in the moonlight. Naruto loved the expression on her face, knowing he had done the right thing by bringing her here. "I often come to this place when I can't sleep." He said, sitting down. Hinata, still speechless, sat down next to him and replied "I…thank you…" she looked him into the eyes. This made her even more speechless because Naruto's eyes sparkled in the moonlight and made them bluer than ever. "Hinata, back then, in the hospital, I did something wrong." He said, breaking free from her eyes. "I said…I said that I love you and…" Oh no..could this be that he doesn't love me? Is that it what he was trying to tell me? Hinata was frightened beyond reason. He went on "And I don't think that was right…" Hinata stood up. She didn't want to hear this. Naruto only now saw the frightened look on her face and stood up too "Please! Listen to me…I'm…not very good at this…" he took her hand, blushing and grinned, shy, very shy indeed… "And saying those important words in a hospital isn't very romantic and stuff so…" He looked into her lavender eyes and said "I…I love you… very dearly, Hinata-chan" He looked to the ground, fearing her answer. "I only discovered my feelings for you because I had those terrible dreams of you kissing…Kiba and my heart broke every single time. I knew something was wrong, because I had never felt that way before. And the time in the arena…where we kissed…I was happier than any time in my life."

"Naruto…" she didn't know what to say. She had always imagined Naruto confessing his feelings to her but the reality was much more beautiful. And she knew what she would have to say "Naruto, I have admired you since the day I met you and I…I know that…I love you too, Naruto!" Naruto grinned brightly and picked her up by her waist and swung her around "Yes! I knew it!" when he let her down she did something that surprised him, she kissed him and threw her arms around his neck. A few minutes later, Naruto was bringing Hinata home (again), walking all the time with his hand in hers. At the gate, they smiled at each other, blushing and before she went in, he kissed her on her forehead saying goodbye. He waited until she was inside and then jumped into the air "YEEES!!!! WOOHOOO!! I DID IT!! I KISSED HER!! YEAH!!" Hinata, who had only closed the door a second before he started screaming, heard everything, of course. She chuckled. It seemed that it really wasn't all a dream. With that, she went to her room and sat on her bed. Before she fell asleep she thought about him again. About Naruto Uzumaki, her _boyfriend._

THE END


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